Call Football: Thursday practice notes

Cal held a light practice Thursday, and the only newsworthy takeaways came after the workout.

An official depth chart was released, and Dykes announced the Golden Bears will practice at 7 p.m. Friday night to help prepare for the 7:30 kickoff against Northwestern on Aug. 31.

“We will go through our pre-game routine tomorrow,” Dykes said following practice. “It’s important to get the guys used to catching balls and stuff at night, and I don’t anticipate any difference, but you always want to make sure you dot all your I’s and cross your T’s.”

Nick Forbes and Hardy Nickerson are listed with an “or” under the middle linebacker position, with Nickerson coming first. Either Forbes’ health is more of a concern than before or Nickerson has just had that good of a camp.

Drake Whitehurst is listed as the backup at X. Maurice Harris (finger) is not making much progress, and the staff has decided to bump up Whitehurst instead of James Grisom.

Christian Okafor is creeping up the depth chart at right tackle. This likely means Bill Tyndall is still trying to recover from offseason ankle surgery.

Khalfani Muhammad, a true freshman, is listed as the third running back. He will likely get a handful of touches on offense on Saturdays. Although he isn’t listed as the starting kick returner, Dykes has said he expects him to win that job.

Brennan Scarlett is still listed as a starter at defensive end. Despite not practicing in full-contact drills yet, Dykes and Co. really seem to think he will be ready.

Chris McCain is listed as the starter at rush end. This position has been up in the air throughout camp, and it looks like the staff feels most comfortable with him for now. McCain has clearly made progress with the behavioral and academic issues he had in the past.

Cal only has six seniors in its two-deep. Dykes has often said they are the second youngest team in the country. They may be the youngest.

Quote of the Day

Jared Goff on how the offense can exploit Northwestern’s defense:

“I think we can get behind them. That’s one thing I think we can do. I think their corners are very aggressive, so we are going to try to work with that and see what we can do. We will continue to watch film to see if we can pick up on any tendencies.”